Project CARS - PlayStation 4

Release Date:

Also on:

Viewing UK:

Summary:

Project CARS may be the closest thing to actually racing a car yourself. Featuring over 70 cars to drive plus 30 locations, this PS4 game is packed full of content. "Project CARS" for the PS4 brings realism to racing events with multiple unique features, such as in-game events spanning multiple days and players needing to qualify to earn the right to take part in a particular relay. In “Project CARS,” you customize each car to your exact preferences and specifications, with the ability to fine-tune each competition by setting the length as well as the AI difficulty within the game. The highlight of “Project CARS” may well be the deep career mode available to players. In this mode, you have full control over the creation of your player and how your career turns out.

7.0

'Project CARS' on the PlayStation 4 is a simulation racing video game developed by Slightly Mad Studios and Published by Slightly Mad Studios and Bandai Namco Games.

The world of racing is about to get turned on its hood this coming April, at least if the guys at Slightly Mad Studios have anything to say about it. Slightly Mad Studios is the team behind the upcoming 'Project CARS' game that will debut on the PlayStation 4 in early April. 'CARS' stands for 'Community Assisted Racing Simulator' and it is an ambitious game that seeks to push what we expect out of a racing simulator to the next gear. Utilizing the MADNESS engine, nothing is normal about how this game will play once it hits the shelves. Let's dig in and find out what we can about 'CARS' and see if it will be a good fit for you when it finally hits the shelves.

Not like any other...

Before this game was even finished it was already setting itself apart from the competition. The guys at Slightly Mad decided to forgo the traditional publishing route as they turned their vision into a reality. Instead of teaming up with some of the big publishers, they instead went to crowd-sourcing and used popular money raising platforms to fund their video game. Now, without any help from the big studio publishes, the game will be getting a broad release. The crowd-sourcing campaign gave the team enough money to make the game that they wanted to make.

Unlike games such as 'Forza' or 'Project Crew', 'Project CARS' seeks to embody a true driving simulation. The developers wanted to make a game that embodied real, physical racing to a T. So instead of opting for video game physics and the sort of hyperbolic racing that we've been used to, they poured the majority of their effort into turning the game into a reproduction of reality. This concept isn't that crazy on face value, but when they started talking about Oculus Rift support out ears began to perk up in a very real way.

As a crowd sourced video game, Slightly Mad Studios had carte blanche to do whatever they wanted with the franchise. One of the first things that they keyed in on was the ability to incorporate virtual reality. The game was designed for the PlayStation 4 and other next gen consoles, but they also had their eyes on including the big virtual reality headsets that have become so popular in the past few years. This will put gamers directly into the drivers seat, literally. With how successful the Rift has been up to this point, we can only assume that the marriage between the two properties is going to be mutually beneficial.

Going back to gameplay, 'Project CARS' was developed on an amped up version of the MADNESS engine. That means that we can expect all of the cars in the game to handle as close to reality as possible. You will want to use the right vehicle for the right situation or else your racing times will suffer as a result when you can't handle the vehicle properly and are forced to fall behind. Despite the realistic portrayal of driving, the developers have opted to allow gamers to choose different difficulty levels. When you switch down the difficulty you will see that you just have less responsibilities in the car. Think of it as analogous to the arcade racers. Do you want automatic or manual?

Racing is, at the core, the most important part about this video game. That is why Slightly Mad Studios decided to open up the different styles of racing for their players to choose what road they wanted to take. The developers opted for a 'sandbox' style in this aspect. Upon joining the game, players will be allowed to choose the path that most interests them. They can choose from a variety of different motorsports. After picking which direction they want to go they will be granted access to all of the tracks and vehicles that belong in that direction.

Simulation will be the buzzword that rings most true for 'Project CARS' as the team wants to most realistically portray racing. Racing events won't happen all in the span of a few game minutes, unlike most other racing sims. Instead you'll see the multiple day progression that includes qualifiying runs, shakedowns, and eventually the race itself. You'll have to keep an eye on how the weather changes as well as the differing lighting conditions. These two things could effect how you qualify and what your actual race will look like.

The most recent numbers that we have seen show that there are over 52 different race tracks, excluding circuit tracks, for us to dig our rubbered tires into. With almost 70 different cars to choose from, and more to come in the form of post-release DLC, we can't anticipate ever growing tired of trying them all out. Though there isn't much known about the online portion of the game, we can't imagine that it will be lacking in any way. This game was engineered from the ground up by the fans, thanks to how much money they were able to raise.

Having only gotten limited time with the actual game we couldn't help but be impressed by how gorgeous the whole experience was. We could practically smell the burning rubber on the hot pavement as our beautiful cars flew by at extremely dangerous speeds. The different vehicles all looked wonderful with their custom designs being accurately represented in the digital world. From sports cars to dragster, everything looked beautiful.

What we've always wanted out of a racing simulator is something that dared to give us racing as it actually is. We don't want slightly amped up versions of the real thing. We, as fans, fall in love with what we see in real life and getting the chance to recreate it without the constraints of cash or clock is an important experience. We hope that 'Project CARS' truly lives up to its promise to impart upon us an open sandbox mode full of cars, races, details, and quality simulation.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.Was this review helpful to you?YesNo